https://avbrief.com/united-max-hit-by-falling-object-at-36000-feet/ Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube Sign in Join * Home * News * Features * Commentary * Products * Smart Aviator * Video Sign in Welcome!Log into your account [ ]your username [ ]your password [LOG IN] Forgot your password? Create an account Privacy Policy Sign up Welcome!Register for an account [ ]your email [ ]your username [REGISTER] A password will be e-mailed to you. Privacy Policy Password recovery Recover your password [ ]your email [Send My Pass] Search [ ] AvBrief.com - Pure intelligence, nothing artificial Sign in Welcome! Log into your account [ ]your username [ ]your password [Login] Forgot your password? Get help Create an account Privacy Policy Create an account Welcome! Register for an account [ ]your email [ ]your username [Register] A password will be e-mailed to you. Privacy Policy Password recovery Recover your password [ ]your email [Send My Password] A password will be e-mailed to you. Sign in / Join AvBrief.com * Home * News * Features * Commentary * Products * Smart Aviator * Video [ ]Search Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube United MAX Hit by Falling Object at 36,000 Feet News October 18, 2025 Updated: October 19, 2025 Russ Niles By Russ Niles Share Facebook Twitter Linkedin ReddIt Print [Screenshot-2025-10-18-at-5] JonNYC Authorities are now considering whether a falling object, possibly from space, caused damage to the windshield and frame on a United 737 MAX over Colorado on Thursday. Various reports that include watermarked photos of the damage suggest the plane was struck by a falling object not long after taking off from Denver for Los Angeles. One of the photos shows a pilot's arm peppered with small cuts and scratches. In his remarks after the incident, the captain reportedly described the object that hit the plane as "space debris," which would suggest it was from a rocket or satellite or some other human-made object. Some reports say it was possibly a meteorite. Whatever hit the plane, it was an enormously rare event and likely the first time it's ever happened. The plane diverted without incident to Salt Lake City where the approximately 130 passengers were put on another plane to finish the last half of the 90-minute flight. Apparently only one layer of the windshield was damaged, and there was no depressurization. The crew descended from 36,000 feet to 26,000 feet for the diversion, likely to ease the pressure differential on the remaining layers of windshield. Neither the airline nor FAA have commented. * Tags * accident * airlines Russ Niles Russ Niles Russ Niles is Editor-in-Chief of AvBrief.com. He has been a pilot for 30 years and an aviation journalist since 2003. He and his wife Marni live in southern British Columbia where they also operate a small winery. Share Facebook Twitter Linkedin ReddIt Print SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER [ ] [ ] [ ] [Subscribe] Latest news News Cirrus Vision Jet Training: Ten Years Later Larry Anglisano - October 17, 2025 News Gogo's Latest Cabin Broadband Solutions at NBAA-BACE 2025 Larry Anglisano - October 16, 2025 News Viasat Wants To Change Broadband Performance Metrics Russ Niles - October 16, 2025 News Podcast: ANR Headsets Quietly Improve Flight Safety Russ Niles - October 16, 2025 Related news News Cirrus Vision Jet Training: Ten Years Later Larry Anglisano - October 17, 2025 News Gogo's Latest Cabin Broadband Solutions at NBAA-BACE 2025 Larry Anglisano - October 16, 2025 News Viasat Wants To Change Broadband Performance Metrics Russ Niles - October 16, 2025 News Podcast: ANR Headsets Quietly Improve Flight Safety Russ Niles - October 16, 2025 5 COMMENTS 1. Tom Waarne Tom Waarne October 18, 2025 At 8:29 pm A cool and very professional flight crew! Reply 2. Larry S Larry S October 19, 2025 At 12:13 am OMG! The FAA and Sen. Cruz better get 'on' this one ... I think they should require flight crews to wear helmets and face protection. I don't get how the pilots arm was injured by debris yet the windscreen held pressure? Reply 3. P G NEWMAN P G NEWMAN October 19, 2025 At 12:14 pm More pics here: https://x.com/aviationbrk/status/ 1979660229072609428?t=ncvmD74cqpFLOqRIfCL09Q&s=19 Reply 4. Bob X Bob X October 19, 2025 At 1:20 pm thanks Elon! https://earthsky.org/human-world/ 1-to-2-starlink-satellites-falling-back-to-earth-each-day/ Reply 5. Douglas Corrigan Douglas Corrigan October 19, 2025 At 1:34 pm A balloon payload? Reply LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Comment: Please enter your comment! [ ] Name:* Please enter your name here [ ] Email:* You have entered an incorrect email address! Please enter your email address here [ ] Website: [ ] Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. [Post Comment] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] D[ ] AvBrief.com * Cookie Policy * Privacy Statement * Advertise * Contact the Editor (c) 2025 AvBrief.com. All rights reserved. Manage Cookie Consent To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent may adversely affect certain features and functions. We do not sell or share personal information. Functional [ ] Functional Always active The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Preferences [ ] Preferences The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. Statistics [ ] Statistics The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Marketing [ ] Marketing The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. * Manage options * Manage services * Manage {vendor_count} vendors * Read more about these purposes Accept Deny View preferences Save preferences View preferences * {title} * {title} * {title} Manage cookie consent x